Man drowns at Hopkinton State Park

A Berlin man drowned yesterday while swimming at Hopkinton State Park, police said.

John Hilliard/Daily News staff

A Berlin man drowned yesterday while swimming at Hopkinton State Park, police said.

Darren Oram, 39, of 135 Pleasant St., drowned at the park's lower beach area in Ashland, said Ashland Police Sgt. Steve Zanella, who was notified of the death at 9 last night.

According to Zanella, Oram was at a cookout with a friend at the park when they decided to enter the water.

Oram's ``friend turned around, looked back and (Oram) was gone,'' said Zanella.
Zanella said the friend called out and looked for Oram, and checked under the water.

``He observed his friend laying on the bottom of the pond,'' said Zanella.

That friend, lifeguards and another swimmer, Bob Marlette of Hopkinton, helped pull Oram to the beach.

Zanella said Ashland Police were first notified of an unknown medical situation at the park at 8 p.m. Lifeguards administered CPR as EMTs arrived to stabilize Oram, who was taken to MetroWest Medical Center in Framingham. Oram never regained consciousness, Zanella said.

Lifeguards at the beach were able to find a pulse, said Wendy Fox, spokeswoman for the Department of Conservation and Recreation, who called the drowning a ``sad, sad thing.''

Fox said the first lifeguard to reach Oram was a 16-year-old boy on his fourth day on the job.

Three lifeguards work at the lower beach area where the drowning occurred, and they called for help from two additional lifeguards working at the park's upper beach area, she said. The Department of Conservation and Recreation is conducting an internal investigation of the drowning.

``I think right now, we're feeling confident our lifeguards did their jobs,'' said Fox.
Marlette, who helped pull Oram to the beach, said he saw Oram in the water before the accident.

Though he did not see Oram go under the water, Marlette estimated Oram was submerged for at least two minutes.

``I said, `Geez, he'd been under a long time,''' said Marlette, who said Oram's friend appeared agitated.

``His friend went in and found him under the water and brought him up,'' said Marlette.
Marlette said he got a hold on Oram's hair and worked to get Oram's head above water. Lifeguards at the beach met them in the water and Marlette helped bring the victim to shore.

He said the victim was not breathing when pulled from the water. Lifeguards could be seen performing CPR on the victim, said Marlette.

Marlette said he swims at the park a couple of times a week.

``It's upsetting, obviously,'' said Marlette.

The lifeguards working last night range in age from 16-23 and will be offered counseling, Fox said.

The drowning was the first at the park in about nine years, said Zanella.

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